On Monday, June 23, 2025, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished Ed Follis, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in O’Donnell, Lynn County, for failing to meet required judicial education standards during the 2023-2024 academic year. This decision followed a meeting held on June 4-5, 2025, where the Commission reviewed allegations against Follis.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Justice of the Peace Ed Follis,” with case number 25-0188.
Judge Follis was mandated to complete 20 hours of judicial education annually, with half of those hours required to be obtained in person. However, he only completed 6.5 hours of online training after the deadline. While Follis asserted that he fulfilled his educational requirements through the Texas Municipal Court Education Center (TMCEC), he did not provide the necessary certification to substantiate this claim.
The Commission noted that Follis had sought a waiver to complete his educational hours online but was denied by the Justice of the Peace Education Committee. On February 26, 2025, the Commission issued a Letter of Inquiry to Judge Follis, requesting a written response by March 19, 2025. He failed to respond by the deadline, prompting the Commission to resend the inquiry on April 1, 2025. Follis replied on April 2, asserting that he had completed 20 hours of online education in September and October 2024, explaining that he could not attend in-person classes due to mobility issues linked to his health.
Despite providing a letter from his orthopedic doctor regarding his condition, Follis did not submit the required documentation from TMCEC to verify his completed hours. The Commission requested further clarification regarding his situation but received only vague responses. Follis maintained that he had completed his judicial education, but did not adequately address the lack of certification.
Ultimately, the Commission determined that Follis’s failure to fulfill his educational requirements constituted a violation of Canon 2A and Canon 3B(2) of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, which mandate judicial officers to comply with the law and maintain professional competence. The admonishment serves as an official record of the Commission’s findings and aims to uphold the integrity of the judicial system. The Commission operates under the authority granted by Article V, Section 1-a(8) of the Texas Constitution to ensure public confidence in the judicial framework.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
